BOISE, Idaho — A jury found a Meridian man arrested and charged with resisting and obstructing officers during a tense situation caught on camera guilty following a full day in an Ada County courtroom on Wednesday.
Idaho News 6 has been covering the story since last summer, when video of the police encounter with Samson Allen went viral.
In the viral video, you can see Meridian Police officer Bradley Chambers pinning Allen to the ground, while investigating and accident involving a dirt bike crash. Many in the local community questioned whether Chambers' use of force went too far.
Still, on Wednesday, jurors found Allen guilty and he was sentenced to 3 months of unsupervised probation.
RELATED: Parents of a Meridian man raise concerns over use of force in son's arrest
Idaho News 6's Allie Triepke was in the Ada County Courthouse as Allen and the arresting officer, took the stand for the trial. Allen spoke to Idaho News 6 outside the courtroom following the trial.
“I’m just disappointed that this is the standard for our police and our community,” said Samson Allen.
Allen says this experience and trial have hurt his view of local law enforcement, “I never expected to be put in this kind of situation myself.”
Meanwhile, Officer Chambers testified that he felt what he did was right after doing everything possible to de-escalate the situation.
The defense also called Meridian Police Sergeants Brandon Fiscus and Justin Dance, who conducted a use of force investigation related to the incident, to the stand. They claim that Officer Chambers “could have been better” at de-escalating the tense situation, but they ultimately didn’t find that he violated policy. Chambers now works for the Boise Police Department.
Allen said in court that he didn’t understand what Officer Chambers was asking him to do moments before he was detained. However, that wasn't enough to convince the jury.
On the steps of the courthouse, Allen shared with Idaho News 6 a social media post by the Meridian Chief of Police, Tracy Basterrechea, that was made following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Allen feels there were similarities in the restraint techniques used in his and Floyd’s arrest.
“There’s no police training I have ever been involved in over my 24 years in law enforcement where it has ever been taught to kneel on somebody’s neck; in fact it is stressed not to do this... Treating every person with whom we come into contact with dignity and respect is the bedrock of our profession; those who fail to do so need to be held accountable,” read Samson Allen from the Facebook post by Basterrechea.
Allen’s family tells Idaho News 6 they’re disappointed with the verdict.
